So this was death…
Chapter 16
“Elaina, please…open your mouth and take more.” A man was talking to her.
Vicq.
“Where am I?” She inhaled deeply and smelled nothing but Earth and a metallic scent. Her blood. She was on the ground, eyes looking upward toward the dusky sky. It was dawn.
There was so much pain, and she just wanted to go back to sleep.
Vicq shook her. “Elaina…quick! I’m being trailed.”
“What are you talking about?” She licked her dry lips and tasted blood. Vicq’s blood.
“Dozens, Elaina. I can’t fight them all now. You kept passing out and I had to give you my blood. Drink more.”
Her instincts told her to take what her body needed, and she parted her lips. Vicq’s ancient blood flowed like lava down her throat.
He grabbed her against his chest and squeezed tightly. “Fuck! I can’t even shift away from here.”
“What happened?” Elaina was slowly regaining her eyesight.
“You were shot with a crossbow. I pulled it out. The more blood you lost, the more I kept losing you.”
She parted from him momentarily to get a good look at his face. It was almost ashen and mostly devoid of color. His eyes were dull hazel.
“Oh no. You drained yourself, didn’t you?” she asked and tried to lift herself up.
“Yes, but I was also shot by a sniper rifle. Don’t try to get up. The blood is helping you heal internally. It may take a couple of days. Elaina. Listen to me…” He looked over his shoulder. “I’ve been trailed. I shifted us here, but it’s likely that dozens of Soldiers are on to me. I’m too far away from any of my coven members to send a call out for help.”
“What does that mean?” She grabbed his arm, and realized that she was weaker than she’d thought.
“You’re going to stay here, behind this bus. Under no circumstances are you to reveal your location. Understood?”
Elaina looked around and realized that they were on the ground near a deserted building in a parking lot filled with buses that looked like they hadn’t been maintained in months.
“Who’s after you?” she asked.
“I smell Dresdan blood. These are no rogues. No one would dare trail me unless ordered to.”
“Russo…?”
He nodded. “I have to leave, Elaina. I can’t pull you into this.”
“Can you just fight them off?” she urged.
“It’s an option, but I sensed too many and I’m completely drained.”
“Damn it, Vicq. I wish I was strong enough to help you.”
“You have my blood and you’ll be strong enough soon, sunshine.”
He kissed her forehead and fled the area.
Elaina bit back a curse and remained huddled near the bus. Moments later, a sea of thick mist clouded the parking lot. Not five minutes after that, the mist was gone and the first rays of sunshine pooled over Elaina’s body. She shielded her eyes with her forearm. The sunshine was the last thing she wanted right now.
Chapter 17
Shit.
Dozens of Dresdan Soldiers began to materialize around Vicq, swarming him like flies, and pouncing around like rabid, hungry gutter rats in their excitement over finally catching up to him. They’d trailed his blood essence here while he was busy helping rid Elaina’s body of the poison. The lethal dose could have killed her, so Vicq had literally drained himself saving her. He estimated that he was still standing because of what little blood remained within his veins.
Yet still, he tried to fold away again, but he was just too weak to do anything.
He managed to focus on the entities unfolding in front of him, but he struggled to stay conscious. His body was trying to pull him into slumber but he tried to remain standing.
A Superior pushed his way out from the crowd of vampires. “Well, well, well…what happened to you? Did one of those trackers shoot you? You’re bleeding out all over the place. We trailed your essence from miles away.”
Vicq opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He swayed from left to right, fading in and out of consciousness.
The Superior laughed. “My…you’re drained nearly dry.”
Vicq’s knees buckled, but yet he struggled to stand. His body fought to lure him into slumber. He was too weak to shift away to his basement. That wasn’t even an option at this point. He would never reveal his place of slumber to any enemy.
The rising sun burned his shoulders. The UV rays affected him more than it did the Soldiers waiting to strike and the Superior that led them.
“It’s too bad you can’t put up a fight. Russo told me I’d have so much fun bringing you down,” the Superior continued.
Vicq swallowed hard, mustering all of the strength he had left within. “Fuck you. Fuck Russo.”
The Superior lunged. Before Vicq could dart out of the vampire’s path, someone struck him on the head with an object. He saw blackness just before the full force of sunshine hit him.
Chapter 18
A biting pang of hunger ripped through Vicq’s belly causing him to rise abruptly. He dragged himself up off the concrete floor, pulling at the heavy chains binding his arms and legs to the ground. Judging from how much he’d recovered, Vicq estimated that he’d slept for half a day.
He was locked in some kind of dungeon and enclosed in a cell no bigger than the size of the master bathroom at his manor. There were others around him in nearby cells. He could smell them, but from his position, he couldn’t see them. Some of them were even human, probably blood slaves who had defied orders.
Before Vicq could investigate any further, three vampires instantly materialized before him. One of them was Russo—the traitorous Dresdan he hadn’t seen in years. Vicq wanted to stand because he refused to bow to Russo, but the chains were pulled taut limiting his ability to rise.
“Hello Vicq,” Russo rasped. “My blood brother.”
“You are no brother of mine,” Vicq said between clenched teeth, finally lifting his gaze to meet Russo’s.
Russo’s eyes were pitch black, almost the same color as the iron cells surrounding them. He looked the exact same, sporting thick long blond almost golden hair that flowed down his back. He was tall and slender, but his smaller size had never been mistaken for weakness. And he was known for his morally deficient ways and ability to flip alter egos at any moment. His looks disgusted Vicq, but women loved him. Both human and vampire alike. It was said that he had dozens of blood slaves to quench his thirst every night.
“No? But we share the same Maker.”
“A Maker who you betrayed.”
Russo sucked his cheeks in and narrowed his gaze. “Why is putting one out of one’s misery called betrayal?”
“It wasn’t your call. If he wanted a final death, he would have done it himself.”
Russo tucked in his upper lip and shook his head. “But when? He was leading us all down a hopeless path! We were being slaughtered left and right by an agency known as District and blamed for the faulty actions of rogues and other vampire clans. We were in a era of chaos. It was time to fight back and he didn’t want to fight. He was too weak to lead us.”
“As you are.” Vicq’s voice rose to match Russo’s. “Your rage against humans has spread to your followers to the point where they don’t even think twice about lashing out and murdering innocents for blood. We are not rogues. We are Dresdan. And until this Court stops condoning the senseless acts of violence, I will have nothing to do with it.”
Russo smirked. “I didn’t give you a choice.”
“I never asked you for one. I’ll never serve under you.”
Russo scoffed and glanced back and forth between the two vampires on either side of him. “Then you shall die. You shall be the prime example of what happens to those who defy my orders and give me a bad name inside and outside of the Court. You shall burn.” Russo pointed to the ceiling.
Vicq glanced up and noted the shaded filter over
an opening in the ceiling. He needed no one to tell him that what lurked above were the burning rays of the sun.
“Anything else you wish to say?” Russo asked.
Vicq fixed his gaze directly on his enemy. “Getting rid of me won’t end this. You will fail.”
“Then I’ll fail until I succeed.” Russo turned to the vampire on his left. “Unsheathe your knife and shave his head. Open the top door and let him burn. You two will stand guard today over this cell. You will rotate until he is gone.” Russo chuckled and turned to leave. “You better feed well on your breaks. This one is strong. We’ve starved him, yet he still lives. It could be weeks before he crumbles up and dies. I won’t give him the honor of a quick death like I did my wayward Maker.”
Chapter 19
Elaina used a dagger to slice through another box with some of her belongings. She tried to remember where she had put stuff since leaving her parents’ home, but her memory was all a blur. Plus, she fought to hold back the tears that were flooding her eyes. She refused to cry. Not now. Later she might, but time wasn’t on her side.
Something tapped on the outside of the storage unit and she turned her attention in that direction, thinking it was the clerk who’d given her the keys, telling her that her time was up. But no one was there.
Elaina glanced down at her wristwatch and noted that the place had closed five minutes ago—6PM—so it had been nice of the old lady up front to let her grab some things while she closed up.
She grabbed a couple of maps that her dad had given her and hastily stuffed them into one of the duffle bags.
Tap. Tap…tap.
“Who’s there?” Elaina spun around. “I know you’re there. I can smell you. Come out, before I come to you,” she warned.
A female laughed and then fully materialized by the wall. “Vicq did say you were brazen.”
Elaina rose at the mention of Vicq’s name. “Who are you?”
The woman flashed her fangs and then ran her fingers through her bone straight chin-length red hair. “Does it matter?”
“How do you know Vicq?”
“I run with him. He’s the leader of my coven,” she said.
“Do you know where he was taken?” Elaina urged. “I need to find him.”
The female shook her head. “No, you won’t find him. We got word that he was taken in to face Russo. I wouldn’t advise you to even try. You don’t know what you’re up against.”
Elaina frowned. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“He betrayed the Court and that’s why he was taken in. You’re better off leaving him alone. You carry a tracker’s mark. The mark of that filthy organization. Another reason why you shouldn’t go after him. They’d rip you to shreds…after draining you, of course.”
“They’d have to catch me first.”
“Don’t be a stupid woman. All you humans are, thinking you can defy the odds. Do you think you have a chance against hundreds of Russo’s Soldiers? Vicq didn’t…and surely you don’t. It’s gotten to the point where those in my coven who were made by him can’t even detect his blood presence anymore. Protect yourself. Was his saving you in vain? Do you want to die?”
“I’m not afraid of dying.”
“Tell me what happened when he was taken in,” she demanded.
Elaina opened her mouth to speak, but regret rose in her throat. She shook her head. “I…”
“Give me your wrist.”
She eyed the vampiress incredulously, but felt guilt for what happened to Vicq when he risked everything to save her. She extended her arm, wrist up, and closed her eyes.
The vampiress didn’t hesitate as she grabbed her hand and sunk her fangs through the thickest vein. She fed for a few minutes and then pushed Elaina’s arm aside. She had a sour expression on her face before she said, “We could have saved Vicq, but instead, he got caught while he was with you. Trying to save you after those people you aligned yourself with shot you. You caused this. Now, because of you, he will die.”
Elaina grimaced, trying to bottle up her agony.
“I honored Vicq,” the red head continued. “I could kill you for this. The only reason I have second thoughts is because of what I saw through your blood. He cared deeply for you.”
“I cared for him too,” Elaina replied.
“I was once like you,” she said. “Wanting to take on the world and seek revenge against those who wronged me and my family. And now I’m no longer human.”
“No longer human, but at least you can still take revenge.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I urge you not to try anything stupid. There’s no other vampire you should trust after this. Not even me. I came to kill you. My coven members never trusted you, but Vicq did. I see it now in your blood. We warned him to stay away from you. Why do you think he never brought you near us, huh?”
Those words hurt Elaina, and she swallowed down her pride. It confirmed her fate. Even though she could technically bond with Vicq, it would have never worked. She was marked as an enemy. He was leader of his coven. How could he lead his followers if he bonded with an ex-District 5 member?
“Ah…those human emotions will surface every time,” the vampiress teased. “You worry about him, don’t you? Don’t feel bad. Good things never last. Suck it up and get on with your life, huh?”
Elaina slid the tip of her tongue against her top row of teeth. Hunger gnawed at her gut. The aftertaste of Vicq’s blood still filled her memories. “Maybe I will.”
“You should…its all a matter of life or death,” were the vampiress’ last words before she disappeared.
Elaina decided to heed the warning this time.
By the next morning, she was already on a train headed west. Exactly where she would end up, only time would tell.
Epilogue
The prison guard’s keys rattled as he made a pit stop next to Vicq’s cell.
Vicq didn’t even bother to lift his head. Even if he tried, he doubted he could. He had no strength and not much blood left within him. Most of his skin had been burned away until only raw flesh remained. He didn’t even know what day it was or how many days had passed since he met the sun. Two days? Five days? A week? Fuck, it felt like he’d been burning in this cell forever.
“Are you dead yet?” the guard asked.
“Fuck you,” Vicq grumbled.
“You’re the one who’s fucked now.” The guard chuckled. “You got a little break yesterday. Today’s luminous power is expected to be much higher. Tell me, traitor, are you ready for more sunshine?”
Death by sunshine. Who would have known that this was how his fate would unfold? He had no regrets. He’d do it again to protect Elaina—mi sol, mi amor.
Donor
Preface
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.”
William Shakespeare
Chapter 1
Four months later…
Without her Glock 43, Elaina was no match for a bloodthirsty vampire.
Her tracker intuition told her she was being followed by one. The vampire made no attempt to mask its presence. Dark shadows loomed over the pavement around her as it hastily shifted from one area to the next, but it never fully materialized. Revealing their true form to a human wasn’t something vampires were known for...unless they planned to kill said human.
Elaina kept her gaze on the ground and quickened her pace. Although the parking garage wasn’t that far away, it seemed to take her an eternity to reach it. The worst thing she could do at this point was run. There was no escaping them, and no point in fleeing once you became a target. Death was the only outcome. Theirs or yours. One shot to the head or a clean slice through the neck proved to be the quickest way to destroy these creatures. But tonight was her unlucky night. Mid-day, she’d left all weapons in her SUV. The metal detectors at the Courthouse would have immediately exposed her if she hadn’t. As a tag and title clerk at the local government office, her position never required her to go beyond the
onsite metal detectors. However, two of the clerks had called in sick in another department and she was chosen to cover for one of them. It was also the reason she was working late. She never stayed out past evening.
But here she was with nothing to defend herself with. Not even a damn razor blade.
Something told her the vampire would not allow her to make it to her SUV, but it was worth a try. Continuing toward the covered garage, she contemplated her limited options.
The tall wrought iron street lamps gleamed on the sidewalk, and her heels echoed into the night as they hit the asphalt. Gusty winds blew against her exposed face, lifting the hair off her shoulders. She caught the scent of two more presences directly behind her on the breeze, but these two weren’t vampires. One smelled of cheap aftershave and the other of pine-scented soap. They were human. Both were men. And they were the only ones between her and the vampire.
Customarily, vampires didn’t discriminate when it came to a feeding. Blood was blood. The nourishment that kept them alive. Maybe he or she was just hungry. Could the men be the decoys she needed to make a clean escape? Or would her plans backfire?
If this thing were one of the greedier, younger vampires, then more than likely he’d chase all three of them down and feed until their bodies were lifeless.
Resisting a vampire was like struggling to stay awake when fatigue had set in. Sooner or later, the body succumbed. There was no denying these creatures a feeding. Death came swiftly to those who opposed them.
Elaina had once been a vampire tracker until she had made one false move that had cost her the job. Now, she was being hunted by both the organization that had employed her and the very beings she’d been contracted to kill, but not for the same reasons.
The Dresdan Coven Trilogy Page 8
